Saumensch
by MissPiggy99
Summary: Liesel has just lost her family, her Mama, her Papa, gone. All because the sirens didn't warn her. But where is Rudy? She has to find the boy with hair the colour of lemons! Why? Because the truth is... she wants him, no needs him.


The Book Thief.

Saumensch.

The sirens had not warned them that night. As Liesel lay asleep in bed she had no idea of what was to come. No idea that I was to come.

For once in all my years at this job, I have to say I was sad to visit Himmel Street. So many innocent lives lost. Not that innocent lives have never been lost, I just found that I really didn't want to see the book thief that night.

I know what you are thinking, death cannot be sad, death is heartless, cruel and cares for nobody. But the truth is that I was truly sorry; the book thief should have been warned by the bomb sirens.

Although they failed to ring, Liesel was spared that night anyway. She had Max to thank for that (more on that in a moment), as it was nightmares that awoke her. Nightmares led her down to her basement where she sat amongst the paint tins and wept for her invisible friend. The man who stayed in the shadows and crept away in the night.

I had the unfortunate task of carrying his soul away. Yes, Max died but his last act was the one that he had promised. He described the weather the way that his best standover man had, and he died fighting me. For Max greeted me with a punch in the face, he was the only one to have ever fought me like that.

But back to Himmel Street. Liesel was lucky to have woken however her family were not so fortunate. First I visited Rudy's family, it heard the whispered cries of his siblings and I lifted his mother from her bed while her hair hung loosely from her head and whispers for her husband came from her lips.

Hans had a light soul, lighter than a child's as his hands itched for one last tune on his accordion, an itch that would never be settled. Rosa was cursing, she swore as she was blown into the air, only to have her soul caught by me.

The book thief was speechless. She lay twitching under rubble and bricks and splattered with paint. I am ashamed to say that in that in that one moment, she longed for me. She called out, begging for me to take her from this hell. But I did not, all I could do was stare as Liesel silently cried, leaving streams of pale skin where the tears had washed away the dirt. One word escaped her from down in the basement of 33 Himmel Street. It is not the one you would expect.

**What people tend to say when they die.**

**Over the years I have heard curses.**

**I have heard praises, thanks and sighs.**

**I have heard please, help, no, yes, finally **

**and I have heard so many loved ones.**

But I did not brace myself for what Liesel said. It took my breath away.

She spoke my name. Only my name. Death. She looked me straight in the eye. Yet still I didn't take her. That's the funny thing about humans, it seems that what they want most of all is rarely given to them.

I cannot interfere with fate. It is already written out for humans, all of them, even those who have yet to be born, but the only person that I have ever wished to help was the book thief. It was as though she could hear me saying that I wanted to come for her. She heard my words because when I told her that I wanted to come for her, she had a thought.

At that moment Liesel realised that she was still alive. She realised that there were reasons she wanted, no, needed to live. So she did. Her small, shaking fingers grasped a brush. She reached out for the nearest paint tin and do you know what she did? She made noise. As much as she could with the little brush in hand.

I am pleased to report that she was heard. I can hear the cheers from the audience now. Yes, Liesel escaped me and I am genuinely glad that she did.

All of Himmel Street was reduced to a big pile of bricks, no house was left standing. She saw her dear Mama and darling Papa lying in their pajamas on the dusty street. She fell against their bodies and wept again. Tears plagued her face and sobs wrecked her completely. But weeping could not save the book thief this time. There was nothing she could d to re-write the sad ending of their lives. Yet all she could think about was Ilsa's lirary. Oh how she longed to read, to distract herself. Oh how she wished for the words to consume her.

She sat with nothing on the remains of Himmel Street as soldiers pulled people she knew from the rubble. Tommy Muller was lain along the street, with no energy in his limbs, Frau Diller was lain alongside him – her body was not placed with as much care and her arm slung above her head, lifeless but straight, like the Heil Hitler that she demanded.

More were lain along the bricks: Frau Holtzapfel, the lady who spat on the door; Franz Deutscher, the boy who beat up Rudy; Arthur Berg, the first leader of the thieves; Sister Maria, the teacher who believed in corporal punishment to insolent students; Ludwig Schmeikl, the boy who she beat up; Otto Sturm, the boy that Rudy and she took the goods from...

"Rudy?!"

Liesel cried out her best friends name and found the energy to search. Soldiers sat her back down but she would not, actually, she could not for the life of her, stop searching.

Sometimes in life, humans have sudden realisations. They often occur when they find themselves alone, close to death, or when they find themselves without hope. Moments like when Liesel realised that she needed to live on, when Max realised that he could not let the Hubermann family suffer any longer, but this was different. Liesel had to find Rudy, she knew that she couldn't go a day without Rudy. She was close to death, she was alone, she had barely any hope left but these things did not compel her to find him.

What compelled her was fear. Fear that she would never again be asked for a kiss, that she would never again talk herself into running away with her best friend, that she would never plot to steal.

She was scared about being alone when she found Mama and Papa but this was different entirely.

**What made it different:**

**She needed him.**

She needed the boy whose hair was the colour of lemons, the boy who longed for her kiss, the boy adored Jesse Owens, the boy who loved Liesel Meminger. A different kind of needing though. She needed her parents to take care of her. But she needed Rudy because...

Well, that's just it. She didn't need him for a particular reason. She needed him because she wanted him. She wanted him more than anything else in the world.

Remember how I said that it is not often that humans get what they most desire? Once more, the book thief was granted what she wanted. So as they pulled the boys body from the remains, I saw the look of relief on her face.

I stood by the book thief and watched intently as she crouched over Rudy's body. Fate cannot be altered, if only she knew that. But she was not ready to say goodbye.

Rudy was breathing. For that Liesel was grateful. I can honestly say that throughout all my years the love I have admired most was for the person I had watched with most interest. The fact that a fourteen year old boy has the greatest love I have ever seen is amazing to me.

The boys breathing was jagged and harsh, not the ending anybody deserves. Liesel cradled his head in her hands.

**The conversation of a boy and a girl:**

"**Stay with me Rudy, don't you dare leave me."**

"**Liesel? You are alive. I was – ouch -worried about you!"**

"**Rudy, you are all I have left. Stay with me."**

"**I am hardly going anywhere Saumensch."**

"**Good."**

"**Liesel?"**

"**Yes Rudy."**

"**I just need to tell you that I lov-"**

That was it. Rudy's body went hard and rigid. His eyes were closed and his breathing had stopped. Tears flew down Liesel's cheeks as her best friend Rudy Steiner had died in her arms. She could only cry. Her cries went like this:

"Wake up Rudy, wake up!"

Over and over and over again. Fate cannot be changed and the words haunted Liesel as humans haunt me. Do you remember what I was saying about Rudy's love for Liesel? Well I may have missed out a small detail.

**The small detail:**

**Liesel loved Rudy as well. **

**Almost as much as he loved her.**

**She had only just realized though.**

Liesel looked at the boy she loved on her lap. He had always asked and asked for one thing. She knew she had to give it to him, but the strange thing is, only now had she realised that she wanted the same thing all along.

Rudy Steiner got his wish. Not many people do, but Rudy was the exception. Liesel pushed her lips against his and kissed him for a long time. She cherished the feel of his mouth against hers, the only thing she had left to keep her going had just died. She never wanted to let go of him because she knew that if she did then she would lose the will to live.

Life is a fragile thing. It should be handled with care. Death is unyielding and cannot be swayed. You can do nothing to stop death. You will all die. That is the difference between me and my sister life, people love her, people fear me. She embraces humans, they haunt me.

In that strange moment, I felt the urge to leave Rudy Steiner. But I cannot do that. So instead I made the choice to summon my opposite. I called upon life. The funny thing is that I had never done this. I know not what forced me to beg in front of life but I did. She obliged.

Liesel pulled her lips from Rudy's and turned away. She could not face the corpse of the boy she loved with all her heart. Alas, if she had stayed staring for just a moment later, she would have witnessed a miracle. She wanted to leave the corpse with her broken heart and walk away rather than face the ugly truth of his death.

So she did.

Liesel Meminger used all her strength to heave herself off of the ground and she turned. As she took her first shaky, uneven step away, she heard a voice. She recognised it.

**The words of the voice:**

"**Is my hair really the colour of lemons?"**

Liesel fell to her knees and sobbed for Rudy. She thought she had heard her friend once more but it could not be. I stood by as she dismissed the voice.

"Not now Rudy, can't you see I am upset? You left me Saukerl. Let me cry for you."

Liesel found that she could hear the ghost of Rudy. It was typical of him to haunt her. It wasn't until she felt the cool rough hand on her shoulder that she looked behind her to find that the corpse had gone. It was crouched beside her smiling that cheeky little smile of his.

Through tears and rubble and sorrow and confusion and bombs and the remains of Himmel Street, a boy crouched next to a girl and she reached out to touch his face. Another realisation was made by Liesel.

**The third realisation:**

**Rudy was alive.**

As Liesel poked his face the young boy made no attempt to cover up his tears. They were not tears of sorrow, they were not tears of pain, they were tears of love and joy.

"Rudy. It is really you isn't it? You are alive!" she cried as she pulled him into a fierce hug. Rudy knew that his family were gone. He could see them over Liesel's shoulder, but at least he had Liesel. That was one of the moments I look back on when I feel annoyed.

As they held each other in their arms Rudy could only find one thing to say.

"How about a kiss Saumensch?" he asked her. This time she did not hesitate to answer.

"Of course I want to kiss you Saukerl."

Rudy was shaking like a leaf, he breathed heavily as he crossed his hand to her face and held her gently. It was their second kiss but to Rudy it was the first. He could not have been more nervous, and for a boy who had a reputation with wooing the girl from 33 Himmel Street, this was his big moment, his only wish, he pulled her against him and kissed her. He loved her so hard and she loved him so deeply.

People clearing the street stopped to witness the love of a 14 year old boy and a 13 year old girl, when the pair finally pulled away, a huge applause was given. Even I applauded.

But they didn't care, to them, they were the only people in the world.

"Thank you, book thief." he whispered in her ear.

Rudy Steiner and Liesel Meminger were the only people to survive the Himmel Street bombing. Of all the inhabitants,only two teenagers made it out.

He was the boy who had painted himself black and defeated the world, she was the book thief without words. She cherished the words when they came. And trust me they came. She went on to marry the boy with hair the colour of lemons and she rarely left his side. She wrote out her own story and The Book Thief by Liesel Steiner was a great success. Her words came and she lived a happy life with her Saukerl.


End file.
